


Soft Touch

by Mister_Spock



Series: Star Trek Beyond- Missing Scenes & Additions [16]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Comforting!McCoy, Hurt!Spock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 21:26:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8816758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mister_Spock/pseuds/Mister_Spock
Summary: Kirk makes a surprising discovery when he visits McCoy.Set after Beyond.Complete.





	1. Chapter 1

It had been four days since the remaining crew of the Enterprise had returned to Yorktown.

A day had been spent checking through the remaining members of the crew, making sure all injuries were dealt with, gathering the names of the deceased crew members.  
Nearly all the higher ranking bridge crew had a set of tasks to get through. Kirk had an endless amount of reports to file while McCoy was detailing not only injuries obtained during the incident, but the deaths that had occurred during the attacks. He had the added task of making sure that all personnel on the ship that had any medical needs that were treated in an on-going basis had the medicine required at Yorktown.   
Uhura was assisting getting communications out to families, while Scotty, Sulu and Chekov dealt with as many of the other queries regarding crew and the ship as they could, especially as Kirk was too bogged down in other details to be able to complete it himself.

Ben had suggested it.   
They had a place at Yorktown, a beautiful home and things had been stressful. He wanted to bring those closest to Hikuru together and just take the stress away for a few hours.   
Kirk went, expecting it to be a bit of a distraction from what he actually needed to do, but instead, he found himself relaxed and grateful for those there with him. It was exactly what they needed. They laughed and ate together. Mourned those they lost but silently cherished one another a little more.   
Spock hadn’t been present due to him being at a medical facility on the base still. Jim expected that. He hadn’t expected McCoy to not be there as well.

So after they finished, Kirk swung by McCoy’s temporary quarters. It was a nice place, considering they’d had to fit so many crew in for an unexpected long stay. He pressed the panel by the door and waited for McCoy to let him in. He didn’t expect McCoy to arrive at the door looking pretty dishevelled.

“You blow us off for a girl?” Kirk asked.

McCoy rolled his eyes. “If only,” he muttered. McCoy stepped aside at the door, allowing Kirk to step in. There was a small area just inside for coats, the hooks left empty by the lack of items any of the crew had with them. McCoy indicated for Kirk to go through the door to the left but pressed his finger to his lips for the Captain to be quiet.   
Kirk stepped into a dimly lit room where he could make out a vague lump on the couch. He squinted down at it, unmoving, wondering if McCoy did have a woman with him. A few steps closer and he caught a glimpse of dark black hair and a pointed tip of one ear and his question was answered.   
Kirk turned as McCoy closed the door quietly behind him. “ I thought he was at a medical facility getting treatment?”

“He was. He’s mostly fine, so don’t worry. His injuries healing fine but they had him on a bunch of painkillers and antibiotics that were no good for him. I hadn’t had a chance to check on him until yesterday and I lost my shit with them. Made them transport him here and I’d tell them what I needed.”

“And no one was bothered?”

“You got someone like Spock, completely unique in his medical needs, notes hadn’t came through so they had no idea what to do with him. You know, when Spock says my medicine makes him sick, he’s not being flippant- it literally makes him sick. And these guys have been whacking him full of all sorts because they don’t know what’s the matter with him and why he seems to be getting worse.”

“So what have you got him on?”

“I’ve got him on a huge dose of rest. His body is still recovering from the injury, and this just messed him up. His own body will do a better job of stabilising him than I can by adding anything else into the mix. Once he’s a little better, then I’ll see what he actually needs.”

“So wait, you could have told the hospital that and left him there?”

“How was I to know if they would listen.” Bones shrugged.

“You’re a soft touch, McCoy. I always knew you liked him.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So... you're not going home anytime soon then?” McCoy teased Kirk as he placed the cup of coffee on the table beside Kirk. 

“Just thought maybe you'd like some company. And I need coffee before I go anywhere.” He said, taking a sip of the hot liquid to prove the point. 

McCoy took the other free chair and set his own drink aside. Silence hung between them and when McCoy looked up, he caught Kirk looking towards his First Officer.   
Spock hadn't moved since Kirk arrived. In fact, he hadn't moved at all since McCoy had helped him onto the chair. He'd gone to make the bed, wanting to move Spock into it but the half Vulcan had already been sleeping when he'd returned.   
Spock had been muttering in Vulcan on and off since McCoy had first been to see him, so most of what he was saying was lost to him, but he had said something about a healing trance and McCoy knew that could keep Spock out for hours, maybe days. 

“You did good, you know,” Kirk said. “Imagine if I'd been with him.”

McCoy let out a sigh. It had crossed his mind already. Most of the crew had basic first aid training but it's always harder when it's someone you know. And he wasn't sure how many of them would have realised how serious the injury is, whether Spock would have informed them or not, not to mention the alien anatomy that Spock had. Yep, things could have been a lot worse, and McCoy knew they were damn lucky to have pulled Spock out of this one. “You'd have found a way to save him,” McCoy said, eventually. 

“I might be good, but I can't luck out on medical expertise.”

“What you didn't know, Spock would have. He'd have told you what to do to keep him alive.”

“You saved his life.” 

Bones shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I suppose one way or another, he's saved mine a few times over by now, so-”

“You take a compliment as well as he does.” Kirk said drinking from the cup. 

“There were times when I wish you had been there. Not instead of me, but with us. I think you might have handled some of the... stuff better than I did.”

“Like what?” Kirk asked. 

McCoy wasn't about to tell Jim anything that had happened between him and Spock. “Your instincts are just better with him than mine are. Probably would have been easier for you to read him.” 

“Maybe. If he wanted to be. I get stuck just as much as anyone else, you know. I can't always read him. A lot of the times, I don't think about him being alien any more than I think about Uhura being a woman. You know, what does it matter? I think that he's just this person I work with who has his own little set of weird ways about him. But you know what, someone starts bleeding green on you and you realise how different they are and how vulnerable.” Kirk sighs loudly. “I didn't even remember that the Vulcan heart was there. I mean, I know it, I learnt it, but it just didn't click when I saw him injured.”

“It's not the first thing most people would think of.” McCoy said. 

“He was lucky to have you there for him. Thank you.” 

“I'm doing my job.” 

“You're still doing it. Right now.”

“This is barely doing anything. I'm just sitting.” McCoy looked over to Spock's still form and his mind cast back to the vulnerability he'd seen in the cave, the confessions he'd made about Uhura, Ambassador Spock and his turmoil about leaving Starfleet and Jim to help New Vulcan.   
And the emotions, all pouring from him because he couldn't control himself like he would normally.   
He teased Spock, relentlessly at times, about his emotions or lack of them, and Spock could give back as good as he got. McCoy would let Spock win every argument they ever had if it meant he didn't have to see that sort of emotion forced out of him because he was in such a bad way that he couldn't control himself.   
Damn, he was getting to be a soft touch when it came to Spock. 

A beep sounded and McCoy picked up the PADD left on the table. “Ah, it's from M'Benga. Vulcan expert. I wanted some advice on the whole trance thing.” McCoy scanned through the information sent.   
“The trance time depends on the amount of healing.... blah blah.... it not only helps the body heal, but the mind, too and restores order and strengthens vital shields if they were damaged...”

“He has mind shields?” Kirk interrupts. 

“Of course. Otherwise every time someone touched him, he'd be able to read their thoughts. And also, to protect his own mind from another who can read minds.” McCoy went back to reading the PADD. “...wow says that they may need physical stimulus to fully leave the trance. It isn't uncommon for the patient to ask their doctor or nurse to strike them.”

“Glad I'm not his Doctor.”

McCoy kept reading but stayed silent. He seemed to pale a little, catching Jim's attention. “What's wrong?”

“Although the patient seems to be deeply unconscious, the trance should not be considered sleep. The patient is fully aware of his or her surroundings and can hear all conversations taking place around them. It is perfectly natural for them to recall conversations that happened during a period of unconsciousness.” 

“We haven't said anything awful,” Kirk said, shrugging. Reading McCoy's look, Kirk broke out in a grin. “What, did you tell him how much you'd miss him? How you like him a lot for a Vulcan really?”

“Shut up,” McCoy said. 

“I can't wait for Spock to wake up now.”

“You sick bastard.”


End file.
